Andy,
I find myself in a very similar position as you...
I was a stills photographer back in the late '80s who did mostly photo-journalism... I did not do weddings/portraiture other than, when asked by friends and colleagues, as a hobby as I simply did not like the dark-room side of things...
My fears proved right, alas, when I became very ill with a glandular type illness - drained me physically so that I felt exhausted all the time - as a result of all the chemicals and gunk... and was advised to avoid the chemicals... was so angry/upset that I destroyed all my work - threw it all into several black bags one-day and dumped it down the local tip.
Luckily, I moved into Film & TV Production, made a number of documentaries on 16mm. film and then made a number of TV programmes on Beta for TV here in the UK. I really enjoyed that job and loved getting up in the morning but... around the mid-90s the TV industry here in the UK went into decline and most people became self-employed freelancers... in the end the TV companies had people working on a day by day basis and, well, you would sit around a 'phone all day waiting for it to ring. You could not live like that.
However, I had got interested in a company back in the '80s called Microsoft, wish I had bought some shares, had become a computer geek
and made a decision to move into IT where, eventually, I became a Consultant Internet Architect, which I still am to this day, which, although it paid ridiculous money, was not something that I wanted to get up in the morning for. No joy.
Now... I don't know what the industry is like in NZ but, here in the UK and also in the US where I have/had clients, IT has gone into decline in the last 12 months since the dot.con bubble burst.
Salaries have been cut and, until there is another boom, IT, bearing in mind the stress and the never-ending learning curve, is not worth doing. Anyhow, here in the UK there are tens of thousands of unemployed IT people at present so things do not look good... nor do they look getting better anytime soon... either in the UK, the US or Globally.
I have been following digi photography for about 18 months now but, up until recently, I have not felt the cameras were up to 35mm film or were simply too expensive. Digi is great for me - no chemicals.
However, I now see the opportunity as being now to get into digi photography and, more importantly, to combine it with my IT skills as photography, in effect, evolves into a new industry. Many of the film guys I know just cannot hack it with PCs. Sadly, they will increasingly find work harder to get or, perhaps, come to people like ourselves for help.
I see digi photography as an extension of the IT services that my consultancy currently offers - Internet/Intranet Architecture, Security, Broadband Streaming Media, etc..
Hence why you will see numerous 'Dummies' questions in here from me as I ramp up to speed on digi photography. Worse case scenario, I can do something I love again!
Go for it!
Janek.
cheers
andy
Andy,
Very few people are successful at combining work and hobby.
However, we read the stories of those who do, and dream of doing so
ourselves. More often, once you start doing something
professionally, the pure pleasure of doing it for yourself lessens
or goes away completely.
One problem every photographer faces is the belief that photography
is easy and anyone with a camera can do it, so why pay money for
it. The trend to automatic cameras over the recent decades hasn't
help dispel this belief.
I like the idea of approaching a job in photography via the
computer avenue. People still see computers as exotic and
difficult. Hone your Photoshop skills and seek work there. Then you
will come in contact with people who need and pay for photographs,
and perhaps you can segue your way into taking the pictures, too.
Another suggestion: Don't focus on acquiring all the trappings
(photographic equipment). Learn to use what you already have, and
only acquire equipment when it is required for a job (and the job
pays enough to cover the cost).
Cheers,
Tyler Monson
Seattle, Washington
